Specialist in combating mold in an apartment
Scientists are discovering a new and less invasive way to test for harmful mold infections in the body.
This is likely to be important in diagnosing these potentially life-threatening conditions.
First of all, how do people get a mold infection?
Doctors explain that usually it has to do with being immunocompromised. When we’re healthy, we’re largely able to withstand the effects of the mold spores that we routinely ingest every day. But in immunocompromised patients, some of those mold spores can turn into infections in various parts of the body. For example, they can get into the lungs.
Certain types of groups are at higher risk for mold infection. This includes transplant patients. People undergoing chemotherapy are also at higher risk.
How it Works
Traditionally, medical professionals had to get a tissue biopsy to figure out whether a mold infection was present.
Now, as of this year, they can use a blood test that looks for small fragments of mold DNA.
That’s important because some of these immunocompromised patients are not ready for the tissue biopsy itself. But the blood test is much simpler .
“A lot of immunocompromised patients are not stable enough to undergo these invasive procedures,” said Niaz Banaei in an article published at the Stanford Medicine News Center written by Nina Bai. Banaei was lead author on a paper titled Concordance of Noninvasive Plasma Cell-free DNA With Invasive Diagnostics for Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Disease that covers this issue. “So they can’t get a precise diagnosis … that could mean a delay in effective treatment.”
At Stanford, where this process was invented, teams found that the blood test and the biopsy returned the same diagnosis 88.5% of the time.
However, that number differs depending on where the mold infection is in the body. The blood test, scientists said, was more likely to catch more infections in the lungs, and less likely to catch an infection in the sinuses, or in the limbs.
Combating the Harmful Effects of Mold in the Home
One way to prevent these kinds of illnesses is to keep indoor air clearer of potentially harmful mold spores.
That’s important for people who may be immunocompromised or prone to mold infections. It’s also helpful to those who suffer from mold allergies, and that’s a larger group of people.
In any case, you won’t know what’s present in your indoor air until you test it. Using a small air monitor, you can figure out whether higher levels of mold spores are present. You can also test for items like dust mites or levels of pet dander. You can test for a range of volatile organic compounds or VOCs, things like formaldehyde and benzene that can get off-gassed from furniture or consumer goods.
Choosing an Air Purifier
After you’ve done this, you can put an air purifier machine in place to get a lot of these contaminants out of the air. Routinely scrubbing your indoor air will give you a cleaner, more breathable result. It will protect you from various health conditions like the ones mentioned above. Sometimes, these conditions are very hard to diagnose. If you feel uncomfortable in your home, with symptoms like sneezing, coughing, an itchy throat or congestion, some of these air pollutants may be at least partially to blame.
For air purifier models that work well on mold, try an Airpura R700. The Airpura V414 is another useful choice. You might also consider the IDEAL Pro AP80 or the Austin Air Healthmate.
When you need to clean your indoor air, US Air Purifiers LLC can help, with all kinds of details like warranty information, and selecting the right machine with the right features and performance for your indoor space. Whether it’s a home or a small business, you can use these state-of-the-art machines to improve quality of life and the health of people who live and work in your building.